NDIS Support & Specialist Support Coordination
Ark Support Coordination are the WA experts in helping participants navigate the complex world of the NDIS.
Our service delivery model has been developed with and by parents of children and adults with complex disabilities. We consult regularly with all stakeholders to help us understand what families expect and need from an NDIS support coordinator, and have tailored our service to deliver on this.
Organising your NDIS plan
Our Support and Specialist Support Coordinators in Perth, the South West and Kimberley help you and your family understand and implement your NDIS plan. We work alongside the people important to you to ensure your formal supports are effectively meeting your needs. A support coordinator helps you optimise your informal support network (family, friends, and community) and formal support network (NDIS providers, agencies, other services).
Our Support Coordinators & Specialist Support Coordinators can:
Help you understand your NDIS plan
Navigate the "My Place" portal
Identify and negotiate with suitable service providers
Assist with the necessary documentation and paperwork
Support your choices
Assist during crises
Work to solve complex systemic barriers to living a good life
Our goal is to find you the support you need to live the life you choose so eventually, you won’t need us.
We’re here with you every step of the way
We understand navigating the NDIS system can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. We make it easier for you to achieve your goals, in it, with you.
Professional, experienced NDIS Specialist Support Coordinators
The team at Ark are comprised of highly-skilled, tertiary-educated staff who go above and beyond for our clients. Additionally, many in our team have lived experience of disability, giving them a unique perspective of the challenges presented by the NDIS, as well as the enormous opportunities when accessed effectively. Combining our experience, values and work ethic gives an edge as NDIS support coordinators.
If you’d like to know more about Specialist Support Coordination role, you can check out our blog posts on the topic; Day in the life of a Specialist Support Coordinator and Specialist Support Coordinators: What they do and don’t do.
NDIS social workers understand marginalisation and systemic barriers. Our team comes from an extensive social work background, with further qualifications in psychology, counselling and health science. We have experience in working with individuals with extremely complex support needs including supporting NDIS participants interfacing with the justice system, hospital discharges, child protection, dual diagnoses, palliative care, and homelessness.
Our Specialist Support Coordinators use their expertise and knowledge to achieve positive outcomes in these challenging areas.
We have Specialist Support Coordination when you need it
FAQs
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While we do a lot, there are some things we can’t do. A support coordinator is unable to provide advocacy to NDIS participants. This is because the NDIS views advocacy as failing to meet section 34 of the NDIS Act 2013 (f) which states “The support is most appropriately funded through the National Disability Insurance Scheme”. The NDIS states advocacy should be provided by services funded by the Department of Social Services (DSS). Your support coordinator is able to provide advice and refer to specific advocacy providers funded by DSS.
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The NDIS provides funding to pay for support services for Australians living with a disability. To join the NDIS and access our support coordination in Perth, you must be:
Under 64 years of age
A permanent Visa holder or Special Category Visa holder
A person with a disability that’s likely to be permanent, making it difficult to take part in everyday activities.
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Support coordination is not automatically granted to you if you ask for it, unlike Plan Management, for example, which every NDIS participant is entitled to access. When you have your planning meeting, you will need to demonstrate why support coordination is a “reasonable and necessary” support in your situation.
Section 34 of the NDIS Act 2013 establishes the criteria for what can be defined as “reasonable and necessary” support. NDIS funding should only be provided and used if it meets this criteria. The six criteria are as follows:
The support will assist a participant to reach the goals and aspirations outlined in their participant statement.
The support will facilitate the participant’s social and economic participation.
The support represents value for money, relative to benefits achieved and costs of alternative supports.
The support is considered good practice and is likely to be beneficial to the participant.
The support takes into account what is reasonable for parents, carers, informal networks and the community to provide.
The support is most appropriately funded through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
You will need to go into your planning meeting well prepared to demonstrate how support coordination would help you. A good place to start is by discussing how support coordination will help you “build capacity”.